Embryo Transfer

Saginaw Valley Equine Clinic offers equine embryo transfer to owners and breeders of high-quality horses. Embryo transfer is an option that many mare owners have utilized for the following reasons:

Mares produce a foal without prolonged interruptions in race, show or work

Production of more than one foal out of the same mare in one breeding season

Production of a foal out of a mare not able to carry her own to term

Late foaling mares can produce a foal and remain open for the next season

Owners do not want to risk the health of the mare producing the foal

Embryo transfer involves a mare whose owner would like to produce a foal from her without her actually having to maintain the pregnancy or go through the foaling process. This mare is called the donor mare because she is the mare that donates the fertilized embryo that will become the fetus in the recipient (or receiving) mare.The donor mare's reproductive tract is monitored every 12-24 hours simultaneously with a group of recipient mares to ensure a synchronous environment for the embryo. The donor mare is bred just prior to ovulation. On Day 7 post-ovulation, the donor mare is prepped and a catheter is placed in the uterus for lavaging, or flushing of the uterine contents. The flush fluid contents are passed through a dish with a filter screen to isolate the 6- to 8-day embryo for transfer into one of our recipient mares. If all goes as planned, the new recipient mare will propagate the donor mare's foal for the next 11 months and produce a live foal. SVEC advantages for embryo transfer include:

Unusually high success rate of transfer

Individual attention to particular donor mare needs – we will accommodate most requests and ensure them to completion